Mercy on the Foundling
by OneTrueCalabash
Summary: Some beggar children find a baby in the gutters of the Lower City. Having mercy on it, they bring it to their Queen. There, it will be raised at the right hand of the Child Rogue and go on to become one of Tortall's most infamous legends.
1. Chapter 1

**Corus. 232 HE. **

In the streets of the Lower City, a baby was crying.

Some beggar children roaming the streets heard it first, following the squalls and happening upon a newborn baby lying in the gutter. Its face was the colour between pink and blue, and it wriggled around in the street muck. The youngest child picked it up gingerly and held it close against his chest. The oldest girl in the gang frowned.

"You're cracked if you think Marna'll like this," she warned.

"But it's a baby," the youngest protested. "It'll die on its own, Attia."

Attia scowled. "We're finding food, not an extra mouth to feed."

The youngest shook his head stubbornly. "I'm taking it to Marna."

Attia sighed. "Marna's more likely to throw you both in the Olorun tied together by the ankles."

The rest of the children stared silently at the baby.

"No one wants it. Or it wouldn't be here in the first place," Attia pointed out. "Come on Jack. Let's go."

Jack tightened his grip on the baby. The baby's eyes bulged a little. Attia frowned again.

"Give it here then. You're crushing it," she snapped.

She held the baby at arm's length and lifted its swaddling clothes from it, handing it to the child next to her. "So it's not a cripple," she mused, inspecting its face and body. The baby opened its mouth to protest quite vehemently that it was perfectly normal, and started to wail.

Jack took it back immediately, comforting it, but not before glaring quickly at Attia. The child holding the swaddling clothes wrapped it around the baby again, cooing softly. The rest of the children, about three of them clustered protectively around the baby murmuring gently to it. The baby quietened, mesmerised by all the faces making hushing sounds.

Attia sighed. "You win this time, baby. Babies," she corrected herself, looking pointedly at Jack and his supporters.

Jack stuck his nose into the air and marched off in the direction of Marna's Court, hiding from the others the big smile spreading across his face.


	2. Chapter 2

The Lower City's Children's Court was held in an abandoned warehouse on the Olorun River. Avoided by most thanks to overwhelming superstition and fear of spirits, the beggar children had claimed it as their own. The Queen and Child Rogue was a girl of eleven, called Marna. The Children's Court was nothing more than four walls, a dirt floor and a table, but the beggar children proudly called it home and defended it to the death from raids and war against the children from other districts. Most of the children who lived there were either orphans or runaways from bad homes, or even escaped slaves. When the district orphanage was overflowing, the children turned away came to the Children's Court as well.

There were some Gifted children there, and they were taught by Allie, the resident mage of thirteen years. Allie was the main contender in the face of a threat, especially when the slavers came knocking. Allie's twin sister, Lanyan, taught the children their letters. The two sisters had been the illegitimate children of a nobleman, and were educated and brought up in their mother's house until their father had ordered them all to be killed, to prevent their existences from hindering his marriage. The sisters had escaped, but without their mother. The district orphanage had turned them away, but they had discovered and lived in the Children's Court ever since.

Every day, most of the children were sent out to scavenge for food. As per instructions of Marna, "Beg, borrow or steal. We must eat."

The remainder of the children remained for lessons with Allie, to care for the sick, or to guard Marna. Each night, all the children would return as they pleased and curl up on the floor to sleep. The ones who never woke up were tossed ceremonially into the Olorun, and hopefully made their way to the Peaceful Realms.

Marna sat proudly on her table in the left most corner of the warehouse, with two retainers on each side – two boys of thirteen who wielded stolen butcher knives. The boy who stood on Marna's left had only three teeth in his mouth, while the boy on the right had a harelip. But they both were loyal and true to Marna, and protected her fiercely from any threat.

Jack held the baby closer to his chest as he passed the door guards. One peered curiously into the bundle and started in surprise when the baby's face peered back. Jack continued, picking his way over children sprawled on the floor, till he came to Marna's table. Her two bodyguards frowned at him.

Jack cleared his throat. "I want to speak to Marna. Please, sirs."

The two guards exchanged a look and nodded. Marna appeared suddenly from behind the table, feigning surprise.

"Someone calls for the Queen?"

Jack nodded.

Marna glanced at him and wrinkled her nose. "Where's Attia? And what've you got there?"

Jack handed her the baby silently. Marna's eyes widened.  
"You cracknobbed fool." She turned to the boy on her right and handed him the baby. "Take this and throw it in the Olorun."

Jack gave a shout of fear. "No, Marna!"

Marna shot him a poisonous look. "You were meant to find food, not a baby! Unless you're so desp'rate hungry as to eat a baby."

Attia burst into the warehouse, panting. She was then knocked over by four or five children who had not been able to stop running in time. Attia got up and said weakly, "That's exactly what I said."

Allie stood and walked closer. "Let me see the child."

Even Marna had a deferential expression on her face. Allie examined the baby silently.

"It's Gifted, you know. We could raise it, teach it to help us."

Marna chewed on her thumbnail. "But what does it eat?"

Lanyan stood as well. "We'll beg milk for it from the markets."

Marna looked at the baby more closely. It was sleeping, curled in the crook of the guard's arm.

"Well?" Marna said suddenly, looking at the guard holding it. "What do you think, Brennur?"

Brenner looked down, embarrassed. "I… I like it."

Marna leapt up onto her table. "Hey, wake up, you Court, you!"

The children all sat up, blearily.

"All in favour of keeping the baby, stand now," Marna bawled.

Most of the children on the floor got to their feet, some toppling back and forth, some falling over from sleepiness.

"All in favour of throwing it into the Olorun, stand now."

The children who had gotten up quickly got back down and curled up, falling fast asleep again.

Marna frowned. "I can't count. Don't know me numbers. But it looks like the kid's staying."

Jack cheered and hugged Attia round her waist, and was promptly thrown off.

Allie and Lanyan exchanged smiles, and Attia's troupe of children cheered too and gathered round her for a hug. They too found themselves on the floor next to Jack, bruised a little from Attia's fists.

Marna started to smile, then turned around quickly. In a cross voice, she said gruffly, "Attia and Jack, you're in charge of making sure the kid doesn't die." And she marched off, behind her table.


	3. Chapter 3

The Foundling, or as affectionately called by the children, 'Kitten', after its mewling cries was saved from the watery clutches of the Olorun. Attia begrudgingly found herself the person formally responsible for Kitten. But it was Jack, who each morning, noon and night, fed Kitten with stolen milk, it was Jack who cleaned up Kitten's messes, it was Jack who rocked her to sleep in his little arms each night. Some nights, when Kitten would not stop her wails and Marna started to lose her temper, Jack would take Kitten and sit on the rooftops of the neighbouring warehouse, and quiet her down with the vision of the moon and stars, and the sounds of the Olorun rushing beneath their feet. When Jack was out scavenging for food with Attia, the children under Lanyan's care would take turns holding Kitten while they learnt their letters, watching Lanyan write out words on one of the Court walls in black chalk.

One night, there was the worst raid yet, courtesy of the neighbouring district's children. Brennur lost an eye to a boy twice his size and half his age. Marna lost her little finger on her right hand. Allie and her little group of healers tended to all these injuries and more. But they were only children, after all, so Brennur never got his eye back, nor Marna her finger. But the best Allie and her healers could do was staunch the bleeding and burn infection out of the wounds. That night, Jack fought like a demon to protect Kitten from harm. His group mates fought valiantly as well, not letting the raiders within an inch of the baby. Attia had dealt out blows left and right, only to be knocked unconscious by Marna's table, which for some inexplicable reason had been flung into the fray. Brennur's fellow guard, Jord, had lost the remainder of his teeth and most of his nose, after taking on an especially toothy raider. Child brawls rarely used weapons, but made up for the awkward fighting style in terms of viciousness and ferocity.

As the years passed, Kitten gradually grew up and out of babyhood, surviving more raids and learning the orphan's art of survival. Kitten learned to walk, which made more trouble for every one. Lanyan started to teach her to speak and read, while Allie waited impatiently for Kitten to grow up some more, so that she could harness her Gift.

One lazy afternoon, while Marna was dozing under her table (which now had only three legs) and most of the children were playing in the streets outside or asleep, Attia stole up to Kitten. Kitten was tied to the wall by her ankle with a piece of cord. From her corner in the room, Lanyan opened one eye and nudged Allie. Allie opened both her eyes and silently prepared a freezing spell. But no attack came. Attia lifted Kitten into the air and cooed softly, blowing quiet raspberries against the toddler's stomach. Kitten giggled and waved her arms in the air, grabbing Attia's nose. Attia let a small smile escape her lips, then put Kitten back down on the floor. She then went to join Lanyan and Allie, propping herself against the wall.

"So you like her, then?" Allie asked suddenly.

Attia turned her head away. "I don't know what you're talking about," she grumbled.

"Suit yourself," Allie said, contentedly. She looked over at Lanyan. Lanyan had her eyes closed again, but let the corner of her mouth twitch upward in a small smile. Attia saw all of this and stood up abruptly, marching off and grumbling to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Kitten was seven years old when a challenger came to Marna's court. All the children in the room sat silently at the edges of the warehouse walls.

The girl, with fiery red hair and flashing eyes, had stridden in, right past the dozing door guards.

"Who is the one called Queen here?" she demanded.

Marna, who had been sitting on her table, instantly stood up. "What d'you want from me?" Brennur and Jord glowered at the challenger.

"I am Morag Elashed. I have been suffering on these streets for fifteen years an' I want Queenship an' this here Court," the girl declared. She met Marna's eyes, smirking daringly.

Marna laughed. "Then come and get it," she sneered, hopping off her table.

The two girls circled each other. Lanyan and Allie watched silently. The twins were young women now, but stayed with Marna to care for the orphans who arrived at the Court, as had Brennur and Jord. Most of the original courtiers had grown up and moved on, finding trades or labouring work to do. Jack had grown older, and had stayed on at Court to raise Kitten. Marna had also grown up. Eighteen now, she was in her lean, tall and in her prime, but had stayed at the warehouse. She had renamed it the Olorun Court, and made it a home for the orphans she picked up off the street on nightly prowls with the twins.

Marna tossed her short head of hair over one shoulder, trying to stare down the challenger. Morag held her fists up, her black eyes bright and alert. Suddenly, Morag ran at Marna, yelling a war cry. Marna caught her by the waist and drove a knee up into her attacker's stomach. Morag gave a cry of pain and fell back, winded, but not beaten.

"So you're not a novice," Morag panted, clutching her belly.

"And you are?" Marna leaned casually against the wall.

"It seems I'll have to use _that_ after all," murmured Morag to herself.

While the two girls resumed circling each other, Allie frowned.

"Something's not right," she whispered to her twin. Lanyan brushed a piece of hair behind Allie's ear.

"Relax. Morag doesn't stand a chance. And they both know it," Lanyan whispered back.

"No. I mean, with the air. Can't you smell it?' Allie wrinkled her nose. "It smells like… like something I remember but can't place. Use your Gift."

Lanyan sighed. "You know my Gift isn't as strong as yours." But she lifted her eyes to the ceiling and breathed in deeply. "You're right… but what is it?"

The two sisters looked at each other in horror. "Blazebalm," they whispered together.

Morag looked at them, and smiled.

"Hey," Marna complained. "You should look at me, not – "

The building erupted into flames. Marna froze in horror as she watched her home become engulfed, and heard the screaming and crying of children. In her shock, she didn't notice Morag drawing a stubby knife from her sleeve. Brennur noticed, and dove forward.

Allie cried out too late, "No, Brenn! She's Gifted!"

Morag snarled and threw a fistful of green flame into Brennur's eyes. Bellowing in pain, Brennur fell back. Jord tried to run forward, but the twins held him back. Jack ran forward instead, and helped Brennur to his feet.

"Allie! Lanyan!" Marna yelled above the crackling of the fire. "Get them," she pointed to the terrified children, "out of here!"

Jord swept up a crowd of children and hefted them over his shoulder. Lanyan pulled several children to their feet and pointed at the door, whispering, "run!"

Three or four were already flitting around the door, which was ablaze. Allie ran forward and held up her hands, murmuring a spell. Blue fire spilled from her hands and melted into the door.

"Go now! The fire won't hurt you," she shouted, weakening rapidly from maintaining the spell.

Brennur was led out first by two children who were leading him by the hands. The rest of the children followed quickly, ushered out by Lanyan, with Jord bringing up the rear with an armful of children rendered unconscious by the smoke.

Allie shot a look around the warehouse. The Olorun Court was empty now, except for Marna and Morag. Morag cackled and drew a long rapier.

"After I'm done with you, I'll hunt down every single child that ever called this place home," shouted Morag gleefully.

Allie met Marna's eyes. Marna shook her head and mouthed, "Trick four."

Allie's eyes widened in shock. Marna shouted in desperation. "Do it, Allie!"

Trick Four was a code for a plan cooked up in the past, between the twins and Marna. Magic symbols had been placed on the already rotting support beams of the warehouse. On command, they would spontaneously combust, letting the whole warehouse roof fall in and crush anyone still inside. It had been made with the intention of killing slavers.

Allie cried out in anger, gave the command for the symbols to activate, and ran out of the warehouse, tears streaming down her face.

Morag looked up, fear flitting over her face. Marna smiled grimly and caught Morag in a bear hug, throwing them both to the ground, and waited for the roof to fall.

The roof fell in.

On the banks of the Olorun, a small group of children were lying on the ground, being tended to by a young woman with burn marks on her face and hands. Lanyan looked up and cried out in relief as Allie came running into sight. Allie collapsed into her twin's arms. Lanyan held Allie close.

"She told you to use Trick Four, didn't she, Allie," Lanyan whispered. Allie nodded, burying her face into her twin's shoulder.

Brennur groaned in pain, clutching his face. Allie gave a start.

"Goddess, your eyes!"

Morag's green fire had burnt out Brennur's eyes.

"Where's Marna, Allie?" he mumbled, putting his arms out and trying to feel for an extra person.

"Gone."

"Ah," Brennur sighed. "Wait, where's Jack?"

The twins and Jord looked around in panic.

"He must be still inside," Allie wailed. "I thought he had escaped with Kitten." She covered her mouth. "Kitten!" She made a start to get up, but Brennur put out a hand and pulled her back down.

"No. Stay and look after the children. A lot have breathed in too much smoke," he said gruffly. "We'll look for them later."

Lanyan looked at Allie. "A lot have suffocated. We have to give them to the Olorun. Traditional-like."

Allie nodded silently, resolving to go back as soon as possible.

Later that day, Allie picked through the wreckage of her childhood home. She let some blue fire spill from her hands and sift through the rubble, waiting for the alert of life. The fire glowed around one spot in particular. She hurried to it, heaving aside the piece of roofing covering what had triggered the alert. The glassy eyes of Marna met her own. Allie fell to her knees, wincing slightly at the sharp pieces of roof tiling, which cut at her legs. Marna stared up into the sky, with burn marks covering her body. Morag was nowhere to be seen. Allie passed her hand over Marna's face, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm not," a familiar voice interrupted.


	5. An Author's Note Disguised as Chapter 5

An Author's Note

Hello readers or lack thereof! However I know that there are readers for sure, unless the statistics page has been lying to me. In which case I will be extremely disappointed. Which leads me onto my next point! I won't go down the path of 'review or no story' because that's mean. Extremely. But I am in desperate need of reviews. Desperate. Because I don't know if you, the reader, like the story or not, and whether or not I should continue writing the story. But I'll continue in the hope that you do, in fact, like the story and want to read more, in spite of the very small number of reviews there are in proportion to the respectable amount of hits there are on this story.

This is my first srsbzns fanfiction, so I would love and appreciate reviews.

Thanking you in advance,

Calabash.

P.S. Thank you, 'Megan'. That one review made me happy. You get the 'Calabash's First Reviewer Ever' cookie award. Here. Internet cookie for you.


	6. The Real Chapter 5

Allie jumped up, startled. Morag stood behind her, battered and burnt, but not broken. Allie gaped.  
"But how?"

Morag laughed. "Your Queen ended up shielding my body with her own when the roof fell in. Funny that," she continued, "How the roof happened to fall. You wouldn't know why, would you?" She waved her left hand, and the rapier leapt from the wreckage into her waiting palm.

Allie swallowed, and started to call her Gift into being.

Morag shook her head. "Oh no you don't." She muttered a quick incantation, and her rapier crackled with black fire. She pointed the weapon at Allie, and it emitted several bolts of green lightning. Allie leapt out of the first bolt's path and threw a circle of blue fire around her. The protective circle shimmered as it absorbed the rest of the bolts. Morag frowned.

"So you're mage enough to hold your own," she commented.

Allie responded by throwing several handfuls of blue fire at her, in rapid succession. Morag sneered, as she waved her left hand and the blue fire fizzled out. "Child's play," she scoffed. Morag lifted the rapier, and in a butterfly sweep, two dense waves of green energy sent Allie sprawling. Morag walked over to her, placing a foot on the small of Allie's back.

"Good bye," Morag whispered. Allie shut her eyes.

A heavy force suddenly threw Morag aside. Morag cried out in pain as she fell face first onto her own blade. Allie opened her eyes to see her twin sister, Lanyan, with an outstretched arm and a snarl on her face. Lanyan made a jabbing motion with her right hand, and Morag was thrown further away again, but this time off the riverbank. She was still screaming as she fell into the Olorun.

Lanyan hurried to her sister, bending over her concernedly.

"Allie? Did she hurt you?"

Allie shook her head. "Almost. But you came for me."

Lanyan squeezed her twin's hand. "I felt something was wrong and came as fast as I could."  
"Just you alone?"

"Lela, the Gifted child we found at Market Row, insisted on coming. Jord and Brennur are with the others. We've broken into a small storehouse. It looks like the owners are away on business, so we'll stay as long as we can. I think she's using your searching spell to find Kitten."

Allie got to her feet and spied a small figure wading through the wreckage towards them.

"Lela!" Lanyan called, "did you find them?"

Lela ran up to the twins, panting. "I found them," she said, "I found them but they're buried deep."

The three girls made their way to the biggest pile of wreckage. Allie put a hand on the pile and nodded. "I feel them." She turned to Lela. "D'you remember that refresh charm I taught you?"

Lela nodded, putting her right hand in Allie's.

"I'll be the power behind you," said Lanyan. "You'll have to use it yourself though." She put her hand in Allie's.

"I know," Allie muttered as she focused on pooling the energy from all three of them. Lanyan's raw power flowed into her, mixing easily with her own blue fire. Lela's Gift was more difficult. The young girl's red fire spilled uneasily into Allie's pool of energy, disrupting the harmony.

"Lela," Allie admonished. "Calm yourself."

Lela blushed and got her Gift under control. The red fire flowed easier, and met with the twins' own magics quietly.

Allie murmured a spell, and the heap of roof slowly rose up into the air. Beads of sweat ran down Lela's face. The roof wobbled dangerously. Allie murmured softly, and coaxed the roofing piece to shift to a safe distance, placing it gently on the ground. It emitted a _crunch_, and then settled.

Now visible, the body of Jack was crouched over, lying face down in the dirt. His back was arched over something under his stomach. Lanyan gently moved his body aside; it rolled back to reveal Kitten, clutching fearfully at Jack's tunic. Lanyan lifted Kitten up, murmuring comfortingly. Kitten wailed and drummed her little fists on Lanyan's shoulders. Lanyan wordlessly passed Kitten to Lela and gave Allie a meaningful look.

"We should give him to the Olorun," Lanyan said.

Allie held her head in her hands. "This… this is my fault."

Lanyan shook her head. "It was Morag's fault. But she's dead now… I killed her. I'm guilty too."

Lela watched the twins silently, petting Kitten's head.

The twins went over to Jack and stood at each end of his body. They lifted him by the shoulders and feet, and carried him to the edge of the riverbank. The Olorun swirled beneath them, waiting for another prize to swallow.

Lela shifted Kitten so that she could see. "Say bye, Kit."

Kitten held out a small hand. "Bye," she managed to say.

The twins rolled his body into the water. Jack landed with a splash, and was quickly eaten up by the current.

"We'll see you again in the Peaceful Realms," whispered Lanyan.

"I'm sorry," Allie added in a whisper. "We have to send Marna off too," she said suddenly. "She's over there." Allie pointed to where Marna lay, looking like she was merely sleeping.

The twins carried Marna back to the riverbank as well, and sent her off in the same fashion.

"Until we meet again," Lanyan said.

"Until we meet again." Allie agreed.

The four of them, the twins, Lela and Kitten, left the wrecked warehouse, with only one of them looking back.

Had one of the twins looked back, they might have seen traces of green magic around the riverbank, and an unusual whorl of water forming in the Olorun. But only Kitten looked back, pining for her foster father, and she was too young to even notice, let alone recognise, the magical traces that Morag had left behind.


	7. Chapter 6

Allie sat in the windowsill of the storehouse. She had heard talk on the streets that the owners were returning soon from a business trip, and could guess that they would not take kindly to a band of half starved children and some young men and women who had been living off their food stores for the past few months.

Jord approached, his eyes bound with a grey strip of cloth. He held a stick now, to feel his way around. He reached out and placed a clumsy hand on Allie's shoulder.

"We'll have to find someplace else," he said.

Allie shrugged his hand off. "I know that."

"But where?" Jord continued patiently. "I'm of no use for scouting. You must –"

"I know what I must do," snapped Allie.

Jord shrugged and felt his way back to his original resting place, his stick tapping at the floor.

Lela appeared. "We can't stay much longer," she said.

Allie shut her eyes. "I know that."

Lela leaned against the wall. "What will we do with the children?"  
"You're a child yourself, if you haven't remembered."

"I know."

"If worst comes to worst, mayhap we'll send you to the district orphanage."

Lela wrinkled her nose. "You should listen to Kenn. He's an orphanage runaway."

"What does Kenn say?"

"He says they beat the children."

"… Then we won't take you to the Lower City places. You'll go to Prettybone. Flash District, even."

Lela shook her head. "They'll only accept children from the district."

Allie growled in frustration. "Then lie, I don't know what to do!" She jumped off the windowsill and strode off outside. Lela watched her go. "Marna," she said softly to herself. "Marna, we need you."

But Marna was gone, and they were all just children being looked after by a cripple, a pair of twins and another toothless boy. They had no income, save for the few coppers they could get by begging, and the coin that came in from peddling charmed scraps of metal. Their food source was rapidly dwindling, and they were going to have to find a new home, every few months. They had no future together.

Jord was the first to leave. In the morning, Allie awoke to Lanyan shaking her.

"What?"

"Jord's gone," Lanyan said.

Allie sat up. "Gone where?"  
Lanyan shrugged. "Gone."

Kenn came up to the two. "He said he couldn't help anymore. He said he was more burd'ning than help."

Brennur groaned. His toothless mouth folded downwards grimly. He stood up, and ran outside, following the footsteps left by his foster brother in the dirt.

Later that day, Allie left the storehouse in search of Market Row. Lanyan stood there each day, peddling charmed trinkets that Allie had made, using materials from the storehouse workshop.

A passing couple looked at her in pity and threw some coin at Lanyan's feet, before moving off.

Lanyan sank to her knees, quickly picking up the coins. A shadow loomed over her. Lanyan looked up. A doxie stared down at her.

"You'd make more coin on your back than selling these bits o' junk, you know," the woman commented. "Come wi' me. I'm the Mother of my own workhouse. Customers are in plenty, too."

The woman had an open sore on her cheek, and her smiles came out as leers.

Lanyan stood up. "Never," she said quietly. "Never, never, never."

The woman laughed, a tired croaky sound. "That's what you gixies always say, afore you come back, begging for work. I'll see you later." She turned around and walked off.

Kenn came running and bumped into the woman, before running again to Lanyan. "I've news," he said breathlessly. "There was a brawl just now, in the Joker's Tavern, on Greystone Way. The Dogs got called, a cause of it getting out of hand. A cove was fighting Cut-eye Nick for bets, the one who takes teeth from the people he defeats as prizes. Strings them round his neck. He got angry, because the cove was toothless, and Nick…"

"Yes?" Lanyan pressed. "What did Nick do?"

"Nick cut the cove's throat."

Lanyan swallowed. "Was it… was it Brenn?"

Kenn nodded. "I saw the cove getting carted off by the Dogs, and I saw his face."

Lanyan fell to her knees. Tears trickled down her face. "The stupid boy was trying to win some coppers," she murmured. "Poor, stupid thing."

Kenn looked at her, biting his lip. "Lela left," he said, awkwardly.

"What?" Lanyan looked up sharply. "When?"

"She said she'd rather go back to the streets than go to an orphanage. And the rest of them agreed."  
"The rest of who?"  
"The other children. They went with Lela." He looked away, apologetically.

"What of Kitten?"

"They left her alone at the storehouse."

Lanyan started to laugh, hysterically. "This is perfect. Just perfect. And what of Allie?"

"I don't know."

"What will you do?"

"I'm going to find Lela."

"And leave me alone?"

"You got Allie and Kit. We got no one."

"Then go to Lela," Lanyan half yelled. "Go!" She stood up and pushed Kenn roughly away. Kenn fled, startled.

"Watch out for slavers," Lanyan added softly.

But it was too late. Kenn had gone, scared off by Lanyan's intensity.

Lanyan gathered her wares up, wrapping them in a rough linen cloth about the size of a blanket, and left Market Row, but not before leaving a magical sign on the cobblestones that would tell Allie that she had gone. She hefted her wares on her shoulder, and set off briskly in the direction of the storehouse, her thoughts focused on Kitten, who was waiting back there alone.


End file.
